Tube-type vortex reducer with retaining ring

ABSTRACT

A tube-type vortex reducer for the conduction of cooling air in a compressor ( 1 ) of a gas turbine, with radial secondary air tubes ( 2 ) being arranged in a disk interspace ( 5 ) and attached to a compressor disk ( 3 ) with their radial outward end section, wherein the end section of the secondary air tubes ( 2 ) are attached to a separate carrier ring ( 6 ), which is connected to a compressor disk ( 3 ).

[0001] This application claims priority to German Patent ApplicationDE10310815.7 filed Mar. 12, 2003, the entirety of which is incorporatedby reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a tube-type vortex reducer. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a vortex reducer for theconduction of cooling air in a compressor of a gas turbine, with radialsecondary air tubes being arranged in a disk interspace and attached toa compressor disk with their radial outward end section.

[0003] In the state of the art, designs are known in which the secondaryair tubes are fitted to corresponding locations on the disks by apressing, riveting, screwing, snapping or forging process. These designsare disadvantageous in that adequate working space must be provided toenable the secondary air tubes to be installed with suitable tools.Therefore, the secondary air chamber, through which the secondary airenters the secondary air tubes, must be given a relatively largecross-section. This involves high manufacturing costs. Furthermore, thecompressor disk may be damaged during the installation of the secondaryair tubes. Since this disk is very expensive, risk of damage is acost-relevant aspect of considerable importance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In a broad aspect, the present invention provides a tube-typevortex reducer of the type described at the beginning which, while beingsimply designed, is easily usable, dependable in operation, and can beproduced cost-effectively.

[0005] It is a particular object of the present invention to providesolution to the above problemsproblematics by the combination of thefeatures described herein. Further advantageous embodiments of thepresent invention should be apparent from the description below.

[0006] The present invention accordingly provides for a secondary airtube, the end section of which is attached to a separate, segmentedcarrier ring which is separately connected to one of the compressordisks. The vortex reducer according to the present invention has avariety of merits.

[0007] As a first advantage, the inventive design enables the secondaryair tubes to be attached by way of the carrier ring. Their installationimmediately on the compressor disks is, therefore, not required. Thisprecludes the compressor disks from being damaged.

[0008] A further, major advantage lies in the fact that thecross-section of the secondary air chamber can be kept small since notools or similar equipment for the installation of the secondary airtubes need to be introduced into the secondary air chamber. Generally,this results in an increased stiffness of the compressor disks, whichalso provides for vibration reduction. The selected assembly methodaccording to the present invention fully precludes disk damage, such asscratches, nicks or the like caused by the peening process, thusavoiding premature failure or rework.

[0009] It is particularly favorable if the secondary air tubes areattached to the carrier ring by way of a form fit. In a preferred form,this can be accomplished by means of a mounting shoe provided at the endsection of the secondary air tubes which can be inserted into a slot ofthe carrier ring and secured by means of a locking element. Thisarrangement provides for a high degree of axial stability. It alsofacilitates assembly to a considerable extent.

[0010] In a preferred form, the carrier ring according to the presentinvention is given the shape of an angle section. This increases theinherent stability of the carrier ring and also enables the carrier ringto be provided with bolt holes for attaching the carrier ring to one ofthe compressor disks by means of axial bolts. The different positions ofthe slots and the bolt holes provide for an assembly-friendly,space-saving design, with each of the bolt holes being located centrallybetween adjacent slots. To facilitate assembly, the carrier ring, inaccordance with the present invention, can be split into several, forexample three, segments. The carrier can be inserted into the diskinterspace without straining the segments.

[0011] For safe retention of the radial inward end section of thesecondary air tube, it is particularly favorable to locate it on thecompressor disk by means of a form fit. To accomplish this, no separatetooling is required which, again, would require appropriate workingspace or could lead to damage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The present invention is more fully described in the light of theaccompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments. In the drawings,

[0013]FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a schematic partial view of an embodimentaccording to the state of the art,

[0014]FIG. 2 (prior Art) is a view analogically to FIG. 1, of a furtherembodiment according to the state of the art,

[0015]FIG. 3 is a sectional view, analogically to FIGS. 1 and 2 of afirst embodiment of the present invention,

[0016]FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the arrangement according to thepresent invention,

[0017]FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line V-V of FIG. 4,

[0018]FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line VII-VII of FIG. 4,

[0019]FIG. 7 is a front view of the carrier ring in accordance with thepresent invention, and of individual segments forming this carrier ring,

[0020]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the carrier ring in accordancewith the present invention,

[0021]FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial representation of the carrier ringshown in FIG. 8,

[0022]FIG. 10 is a representation, analogically to FIGS. 8 and 9, of afirst step for the assembly of the secondary air tubes to a carrierring,

[0023]FIG. 11 is a representation of a final assembly step performedsubsequently to that represented in FIG. 10,

[0024]FIG. 12 is an enlarged representation of the installation of thesecondary air tubes by means of a locking element,

[0025]FIG. 13 is a representation, analogically to FIG. 12, of thefinally assembled state,

[0026]FIG. 14 is a perspective partial view of the allocation of thecarrier ring to the compressor disks.

[0027]FIG. 15 is a representation, analogically to FIG. 14, withpreassembled secondary air tubes,

[0028]FIG. 16 is a representation, analogically to FIGS. 14 and 15 withfinally assembled secondary air tubes, and

[0029]FIG. 17 is a simplified sectional view of a portion of aninventive gas turbine, using the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030]FIG. 17 shows a partial sectional view of an inventive gasturbine. Reference numeral 1 shows a compressor comprising rotor blades11 and stator vanes 12. The rotor blades 11 are fixed to the compressordisks 3 or 4, respectively. These form a disk interspace 5 in whichseveral, radial secondary air tubes 2 are arranged. Reference numeral 13indicates a combustion chamber, while reference numeral 14 designates aturbine in schematic representation. The arrows schematically indicatethe route of the secondary air flow.

[0031]FIGS. 1 and 2 show embodiments according to the state of the art.Obviously, the end sections of the secondary air tubes are riveted, asindicated by the reference numeral 15. Reference numeral 16 designatesan additional carrier disk which represents an additional volume elementand is fitted in the disk interspace 5.

[0032]FIG. 2 shows a similar embodiment, with a riveted joint againbeing indicated by the reference numeral 15. As becomes apparent, a verylarge secondary air chamber 17 must be provided to allow the rivetingtool to be introduced.

[0033]FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment according to the presentinvention. As can be seen, the free end of the secondary air tube islocated on an angle-section carrier ring 6. The secondary air chamber 17can here be very small since no pressing tool needs to be introducedinto it. The carrier ring 6 is attached to the compressor disk 3 bymeans of bolts 18. The bolt 18 also holds a mounting flange 19 of thefurther compressor disk 4. Thanks to the present invention, the carrierring 6 can be dimensioned and designed such that a very favorable designof the mounting flange 19 can be achieved, resulting in an enlarged,improved radius 20 of said mounting flange 19. Further, it is possibleto minimize a chamber 21 at the radially outward end of the compressordisk 3.

[0034]FIG. 4 shows an axial partial view illustrating that the bolts 18and the secondary air tubes 2 are offset relative to each other inalternation on the circumference.

[0035]FIG. 5 shows an enlarged partial sectional view along line V-V ofFIG. 4, showing again in detail the carrier ring 6 and the bolts 18 aswell as further locking elements and the nuts required.

[0036]FIG. 6 shows a sectional view along line VII-VII of FIG. 4 withthe secondary air tubes in the installed state. In particular, amounting shoe 7, which is detailed hereinafter, is shown on the endsection of each secondary air tube 2. Furthermore, a locking element 9for the retention of the mounting shoe 7 is shown, this locking element9 also being explained hereinafter.

[0037]FIG. 7 is an axial view of the carrier ring 6 according to thepresent invention. As can be seen, individual mounting pads 22 with boltholes 10 for the bolts 18 are provided.

[0038] As becomes apparent from FIG. 7, the carrier ring 6 may includeindividual segments a, b and c to facilitate installation. Referencenumeral 23 indicates the splits, these being located and arrangedessentially radially (upper split in FIG. 7) as well as diagonally tothe upper split. The large arrows 24 indicate the installation directionof the segments a, b and c.

[0039]FIG. 8 is a perspective representation of the carrier ring 6according to the present invention. The figure clearly shows that a slot8 is provided between adjacent mounting pads 22 into which the mountingshoe 7 of the secondary air tube 2 can be inserted. Reference numeral 25designates a registering skew, or a chamfered, skewed area of thelocking element 9, which enables the mounting shoe 7 to be accuratelyfitted. See also, FIGS. 9, 10, 12 and 13. The chamfered area of thelocking element 9 faces radially outwardly and is configured to engage acorresponding radially inwardly chamfered area of the mounting shoe 7 ofthe secondary air tube 2. This locking engagement secures the secondaryair tube 2 in place and prevents the secondary air tube 2 from movingradially inwardly. The radially outwardly and inwardly facing portionscan have alternative configurations other than chamfered.

[0040]FIGS. 10 and 11 show assembly steps, illustrating the manner inwhich the individual mounting shoes 7 of the secondary air tubes 2 areinserted into the slots 8. FIG. 11 shows the finally assembled, insertedstate. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12, the locking element 9interacts with the mounting shoe 7 to clamp the secondary air tube 2 inplace.

[0041] FIGS. 14 to 16 again show various assembly states in differentperspective. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the carrier ring 6 is fittedbetween the two compressor disks 3 and 4. FIG. 15 shows the pre-assemblyof the secondary air tubes 2 (analogically to FIG. 10). FIG. 16 is arepresentation of the finally assembled state, analogically to FIG. 13.

[0042] As becomes apparent, in particular, each of the radially inwardend sections of the secondary air tubes 2 is provided with a flange 26(see FIG. 11) which is insertable into a profiled, essentially circularrecess 27 (see FIG. 16) of the compressor disk 4. This arrangementenables the free end sections of the secondary air tubes 2 to beretained effectively.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0043]1 Compressor

[0044]2 Secondary air tube

[0045]3 Compressor disk

[0046]4 Compressor disk

[0047]5 Disk interspace

[0048]6 Carrier ring

[0049]7 Mounting shoe

[0050]8 Slot

[0051]9 Locking element

[0052]10 Bolt hole

[0053]11 Rotor blade

[0054]12 Stator vane

[0055]13 Combustion chamber

[0056]14 Turbine

[0057]15 Riveted joint

[0058]16 Carrier disk

[0059]17 Secondary air chamber

[0060]18 Bolt

[0061]19 Mounting flange

[0062]20 Radius

[0063]21 Chamber

[0064]22 Mounting pad

[0065]23 Split

[0066]24 Arrow

[0067]25 Registering skew

[0068]26 Flange

[0069]27 Recess

What is claimed is:
 1. A tube-type vortex reducer for the conduction ofcooling air in a compressor of a gas turbine including radial secondaryair tubes arranged in a disk interspace and attached to a compressordisk with their radial outward end sections, comprising: a separatecarrier ring constructed and arranged to connect to a compressor disk,the end sections of the secondary air tubes being attached to thecarrier ring.
 2. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 1,wherein the secondary air tubes are attached to the carrier ring by aform fit.
 3. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 2,wherein the end sections of the secondary air tubes are provided withmounting shoes which can be inserted into slots of the carrier ring andsecured in the slots by locking elements.
 4. A tube-type vortex reducerin accordance with one claim 3, wherein the carrier ring has a shape ofan angle section.
 5. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim4, wherein the carrier ring is provided with bolt holes for mounting tothe compressor disk which are offset to the slots on the circumference.6. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 5, wherein thecarrier ring is split into a plurality of segments.
 7. A tube-typevortex reducer in accordance with claim 6, wherein radial inward endsections of the secondary air tubes are located on the compressor diskby a form fit.
 8. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 3,wherein the carrier ring is provided with bolt holes for mounting to thecompressor disk which are offset to the slots on the circumference.
 9. Atube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 8, wherein the carrierring is split into a plurality of segments.
 10. A tube-type vortexreducer in accordance with claim 9, wherein radial inward end sectionsof the secondary air tubes are located on the compressor disk by a formfit.
 11. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 1, whereinthe end sections of the secondary air tubes are provided with mountingshoes which can be inserted into slots of the carrier ring and securedin the slots by locking elements.
 12. A tube-type vortex reducer inaccordance with one claim 1, wherein the carrier ring has a shape of anangle section.
 13. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim3, wherein the carrier ring is provided with bolt holes for mounting tothe compressor disk which are offset to the slots on the circumference.14. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 1, wherein thecarrier ring is split into a plurality of segments.
 15. A tube typevortex reducer in accordance with claim 1, wherein radial inward endsections of the secondary air tubes are located on the compressor diskby a form fit.
 16. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim3, wherein the locking elements comprise radially outwardly facingportions that engage radially inwardly facing portions of the mountingshoes of the secondary air tubes.
 17. A tube-type vortex reducer inaccordance with claim 16, wherein the radially outwardly facing portionsof the locking elements are chamfered and the radially inwardly facingportions of the mounting shoes are chamfered.
 18. A tube-type vortexreducer in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locking elementscomprise radially outwardly facing portions that engage radiallyinwardly facing portions of the mounting shoes of the secondary airtubes.
 19. A tube-type vortex reducer in accordance with claim 18,wherein the radially outwardly facing portions of the locking elementsare chamfered and the radially inwardly facing portions of the mountingshoes are chamfered.